


TRACK EIGHT ; TOES

by lemongrassislands



Series: ZABA [1]
Category: Glass Animals (Band), Original Work
Genre: Angst, Animal Traits, Atmospheric, Based on a Glass Animals Song, Blood and Violence, Descent into Madness, Gen, Graphic Description, Immersive, Inner Dialogue, Internal Conflict, Mental Breakdown, Murder, Poetic, Rainforests, Self-Hatred, Song: Toes (Glass Animals), Songfic, Trippy, Vivisection, glass animals - Freeform, not heat waves by tbhyourelame that shit makes me sick, prose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26221267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemongrassislands/pseuds/lemongrassislands
Summary: eddie doesn't feel right—& after he commits an unforgivable deed, he stumbles upon a sanctuary & finds peace, albeit tempered.
Series: ZABA [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904347
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	TRACK EIGHT ; TOES

**Author's Note:**

> (tw for: animal death, blood)

_EDDIE PELTED THROUGH_ the jungle. the virescent landscape whipped past, much too fast to register any details, even with his attentive golden eyes. he bolted as quickly as he could, a true cheetah-man. his hot breath melted into the steamy rainforest air, coalescing into humidity. the thunder of his ugly limbs resonated through the trees, his heart hammering in his chest. his tongue lolled out from his mouth, animalistic in nature.

speed. the rush the breathiness of the heavy air gave him. every subtle scent floating like plumes of smoke into his flaring nostrils. the exhaustion & numbness that came after a particularly draining race. the lax stillness of the low buzz in his body like a nest of wasps. all of it satisfied the beast when it could not be tamed.

he masterfully weaved in between trees like a snake, leaping gracefully over gnarled roots & stones like a jaguar, keeping low in the undergrowth like a wolf stalking its prey. eddie slowed, scenting something in the summer air. between the sweet nectar of jungle-flowers & bitter sap of kapoks, eddie found the enticing scent of a hare. it was near; the scent was still fresh. his pupils dilated as an instinctual desire pummelled through his twisted body. he licked his lips, a wan smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

standing on all fours, he pivoted his large head, looking for any trace of the passage of the long-eared animal—a stamped leaf, a nibbled blade of grass, or churned dirt, perhaps. perking his ears, he listened for a sign.

the air warbled loudly, the walla-walla of the forest beating in his sensitive ears. the screeching cacophony of the howler monkeys teased him, & the twittering of macaws taunted him. the hot air was dizzying, & it gave the jungle an almost psychedelic quality, the jumping colours, hazy in the steam, yet lucid. the landscape seemed to warp in the hot beams of afternoon light, beating down through a thick canopy. purple & teal & red flowers in bloom released their sweet honeyed scent, cloying his flaring nostrils. he hissed, lashing his tail. his primal desires could barely be contained.

then, movement. there, in the corner of his eye—a small furry creature munching on a tuft of emerald grasses in the shadow of xate plants. long-eared, bright-eyed, innocent, oblivious. eddie padded stealthily past. his steps were soft & sure. his muscles rippled under his pelt as he prepared to pounce. like a trap, his powerful legs snapped out as he leapt. he sailed through the air like a bird of prey. then, the man landed on the rabbit, killing it swiftly by twisting its neck. it was easily done, like snapping dry twigs for an evening fire.

animal instinct pulsed through his body, like a stimulating drug, like gushing gold. crouched in the shadows of the bumbling forest, centipedes scurried over his toes, flowers shut their petals from the horrible sight, the loud rumble of a distant fall drowning out the noises of eddie’s sloppy feeding. his body bowed over, he sunk his teeth in the flesh of the animal. the hare was tender & raw & sweet. it satisfied a hunger he’d been beginning to have, that some of the others were beginning to have—like the leopard man & the hyena-swine. blood stained the sweet grasses, bestial hunger ravaged his body, the hare being torn to shreds by pointed teeth. all to the steady heartbeat of the rainforest.

a sudden fear seized eddie, cold, gripping hands taking control of his body. realization. his pupils dilated as he looked at his clawed hands, painted red with the blood of a creature. his stomach turned as he vomited his meal in the mossy undergrowth.  _ this wasn’t right _ . he needed to get away, away from the blood. he needed to wash it off his murderous hands.

once again, he began to run—though this time, he was being chased by his own autophobia. eddie stumbled over twisted roots, scratching his knees & forearms. he began to laugh breathily, on the brink of insanity. he hoisted his mangled body as the jungle laughed with him, mocking the cheetah-man. the forest blinked past him, a mere blur of vivid emerald & deep ebony & sultry red. the hum of cicadas droned in his ears.

panting like an exhausted dog, he came across a small clearing ringed by ancient rubber trees, standing like pillars. thick trunks walled him off from the rest of the jungle. vines lazily hung from the thick branches, like ropes on a sailboat. a snake eyed him slyly, its flickering tongue scenting the fear radiating from eddie. its slit pupils glinted & laughed at the man. monoliths of golden light filtered through the thick canopy, like they were upholding the entirety of the zabajaba jungle. the light reflected in a small bubbling pool, the crystal clear water foamed at the sandy shore. a stream bubbled at the opposite end from where he stood. it tumbled down over several platforms of wet spongy rock & droned on, misting the hot air. rainbow shards of lights bounced from the pearly water & reflected on eddie’s face, living a kaleidoscope. the pool was surrounded with ivory sand soft enough to sink in & tall grasses long enough to hide in. flowers of colours unimaginable bloomed, things scurried in the lush bushes, a smooth feeling in the air. eerie things crept, cloaked in shadow, fearing the crazed man standing at the shore.

the entire scene brought solace to the man, as he forgot for a moment of his gutting fear. everything seemed so peaceful, so eerily quiet, despite the white noise of the jungle. he bent over & drank like an animal from the pond, nose in the water. blindly, he plunged his arms in the cool water, washing away the blood, staining it pink. 

a mirror, the rippling pool cast his reflection into his retinas. he snarled, afraid once more. this was not the face of a man named eddie. eddie was long gone. now, he was one of moreau’s beast folk, a cheetah-man. he stared with bared fangs at his reflection with bitter disgust sitting like a cold stone in his stomach.

he had the head of a cheetah atop his large shoulders, cream-coloured fur going from his lower jaw down to his neck. a resentful glint shone in his golden feline eyes. blood stained his spotted muzzle, turning the once sandy fur a rusted brown. red fangs like needles glinted in the burning sunlight, scorching the swarthy skin of his exposed human back. though clawed, his hands were those of a human as well, a coat of spotted coarse tan fur growing at his forearms. his legs were slender & furred, borrowed from a cheetah. a sleek tail lashed anxiously behind him like a ticking metronome, keeping time with his frantic heartbeat. a growl bubbled in his throat, low & guttural & full of loathing.

he collapsed onto all fours, crystal clear water splashing over his mutilated form. it dripped down his slick spotted coat, a coat that belonged to an animal. an ugly mutation of man & beast. he was breathing heavily, shaking all over. kneeling in the thick tan sand & the tall thin grass, he shut his muzzle with clawed hands. he feared his ugly fanged mouth.

“i’m eddie. i’m a man, i’m a twisted fool, my hands are twisted too. don’t spin me a lie, moreau. you bastard of a man. you did this to me, to  _ us _ .” he bared his pointed canines once more into something resembling a smile. “i remember. i’m still human. i’m crooked but upright.” he shivered, paranoia & dysphoria pumping in his veins like the primal instincts did earlier. he began to laugh. it was rough like sandpaper, like a sharp yowl from a pained creature. he clawed at his reflection, the ripples warping his perception of the beast staring him down. he lay his forehead in the shallow of the pool, his brow in the sinking sand, trying to ease his breathing.

the cheetah-man slowly came to his senses, loosening his grasp on his muzzle. staring at his hands with golden eyes revealed that he’d been driving his claws into his own flesh in this state of mania. indeed, blood blossomed from his nose like a budding rose. he found the drone of the fall of the water to be soothing, & it regulated his instincts. numbly, he let the cold water of the pond clear the rabbit’s blood from his furry forearms, his disgust washing away as well. lulled by the monotonous drawl of the jungle, he nodded, now eerily calm.

he smiled, unwell.  _ i’m eddie _ . the beast purred.


End file.
